6/24/2006

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Top 10 World Cup 2006 players

1. Michael Ballack (GER) – do you know that the first time I heard of Ballack was in the 2002 World Cup? Oh yeah, remind me to put Wayne Rooney on top on 2010.

2. Wayne Rooney (ENG) – one word: move over, Beckham.

3. Edwin Van der Sar (NED) – oh yes, id0l Van der Sar is still alive.

4. Ruud Van Nilsterooy (NED) – thanks to Bjoe, I was introduced to a Ruud awakening.

5. Fredrick Ljunberg (SWE) – thanks to the English Premiere League, he gets some name recall.

6. Kaka (BRA) – before the World Cup began, Kaka was just one of these Brazilian guys. Then I saw his face. With strategic marketing, he could overtake David Beckham as world football’s poster boy. It’s a good thing Ronaldo scores a lot of goals; else Nike wouldn’t have considered him as an endorser.

7. Ronaldinho (BRA) – with the constant press mileage the Brazil team gets, its inevitable that besides Ronaldo, at least one other player would ring a bell when mentioned. This guy is just a two-time FIFA Player of the Year. That simple. So what has Beckham done besides being in the cover of fashion magazines?

8. Oliver Kahn (GER) – a sentimental favourite. Just looking at this guy’s face and you would be intimidated in scoring a goal against him.

9. Michael Owen (ENG) – another player Bjoe introduced to me. He was raving to me that this “Golden Boy” was way better than Beckham. Guess what, he didn’t disappoint.

10. Sol Campbell (ENG) – if you play fullback and you manage to score a goal, you must be someone special then.

6/22/2006

Top 10 World Cup 2006 teams

1. Germany (Group A) – both Germany and England are pretty close to my football heart and that would remain for quite some time. It’s less of the personalities but more of ‘association’. Outside of Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn, I don’t know any other player in the German team before this year’s World Cup began. It all started when the football uniform of our class for the intrams during my third year was patterned after one of Germany’s older designs. We placed second. The following year, a classmate of mine was able to procure replica Brazil 1998 World Cup alternate jerseys (the green one). I sat that one out. I forgot what happened to our team.

2. England (Group B) – now here’s a team I am more familiar with. It helps that the English Premiere League gets airtime in ESPN-Star Sports, unlike Bundesliga which I only hear when I chance upon it on CNN. Like Germany, cheering for England is more of a ‘culture’ thing rather than actual team composition. That’s the reason why even if I hate the sight of David Beckham, his team is still second on my list.

3. Korea Republic (Group G) – again, another squad that I don’t know a scratch about. Park who? I am more familiar with their baseball exports and I don’t even know their individual names. But watching how the Koreans supported their team during the time they hosted, who wouldn’t be amazed?

4. Netherlands (Group C) – my first exposure with international club football was actually the Dutch league. My first first team? AFC Ajax. A decade later, I already forgot who played there. Oh yeah, they had Melchiott, Litmannen, and Overmars, but I have no idea if they made the national team. Good thing Edwin Van der Sar’s still alive. He still is my id0l. He was my inspiration to play goalkeeper during my high school days. Who said keepers can’t be celebrities?

5. Japan (Group F) – an Asian neighbor that gets my token support.

6. Sweden (Group B) – watching that England-Sweden first round match back in 2002, I was an instant convert. Back then, I had no idea that they have an ongoing rivalry, but you could just feel an unusual tension during the fixture. Then, I was hearing a familiar name being repeated by the commentators: Fredrick Ljunberg.

7. Argentina (Group C) – “Hand of God” references aside, Argentina has gone far since their Diego Maradona glory days. Nevertheless, the respect coming from the opposition is still there. Besides, they are the country which has a decent team in both basketball and football. How cool is that?

8. Italy (Group E) – save for Brazil and France, I have a soft spot for former World Cup champions… or at least teams that are consistent. Besides, Italy is one of the many football hotbeds in Europe with its competitive Italian league. Plus I believe that that Italian priest turned saint John Bosco plays wicked football.

9. Mexico (Group D) – I notice that there’s no North American squad in my list. So, in comes Mexico. But it’s not just that. There was this one minor game (not sure if it’s a World Cup qualifying match) between Mexico and USA. It was on the 20th minute and the American goalie was about to clear the ball. He botched it and then this long-haired Mexican (I think his name is Hernandez) who was just outside the box headed the ball and the next thing you knew, the ball was already in the goal. If I’m correct, Mexico won, 1-nil. That was a classic.

10. Cote d’ Ivoire (Group C) – more than just a token African team in the list (whatever happened to Cameroon?), they also have the most wicked uniform in this edition of the World Cup. Must get this one.